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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump pressured his chief of staff and White House counsel to grant his daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations, CNN reported on Tuesday (Mar 5).

Trump pushed for John Kelly, his chief of staff at the time, and Donald McGahn, who was then his White House counsel, to grant the security clearances to his daughter and Jared Kushner, her husband and another White House adviser, following concerns raised by the personnel office, CNN reported.

Both men refused to grant the security clearances to the couple, and ultimately Trump awarded them to the pair himself, according to reporters, which cited three sources.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The New York Times reported last week that Trump ordered his chief of staff to grant Kushner a top-secret security clearance. Senior administration officials were troubled by the decision, and Kelly wrote an internal memo about the order.

Ivanka Trump said in a television interview last month that her father had "no involvement" in granting her or Kushner clearances.

It was not clear what the specific issues with their security clearances were.